1. Feild of the Invention
The present invention relates to an abrasive material for use in the surface finishing process of a variety of works including a metal, a ceramic, a plastic or a composite material of some of these, and in particular, to an abrasive material for use in the surface finishing process of a work having a complicated irregular contour.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventional arts are disclosed in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/826,344 and Japanese Patent No. 2957492. In both prior arts, an abrasive material is constructed with attaching abrasive particles to the surface of a core. The material of the core or the abrasive particles is appropriately modified to be applied for the surface finishing of a variety of works, and performs the surface finishing on a surface of the work even if it has an irregular contour.
The conventional abrasive material has the following drawback. To finish the surface of a work, the abrasive particles need to be selected in view of the material of the work. The core itself also needs to be selected from among appropriate materials. In the surface finishing method using the abrasive material, a number of abrasive materials are sprayed to the surface of a work at a slant angle as to the surface, thereby sliding on the work surface and polishing the affected area of the surface. To assure a distance of travel of the abrasive material, the core needs to be flexible. If the hardness of the core is requested more, flexibility is further required of the core.
A good binder, for causing the abrasive particles to adhere to the surface of the core, in terms of adherence density and workability, is not always available, and the binder currently has still room for improvements.